AD - General

Question 1

What is AD?

Answer 1

Irreversible, progressive cognitive decline which affects all areas of function

comprehension, calculation, learning, language, personality, judgement, mood and behaviour

Question 2

What is the life expectancy from diagnosis?

Answer 2

7 years

Question 3

What is the prevalence?

Answer 3

1 in 5 >80
1 in 20 70-80
Overall 1 in 80

Question 4

Which type of symptoms come earliest in AD?

Answer 4

Cognitive then behavioural

Question 5

What does brain imaging show?

Answer 5

Neurodegeneration

Question 6

What do PET scans show?

Answer 6

Low activity

Question 7

What are the CSF abnormalities?

Answer 7

High tau (due to neuronal/axonal degen)
High amyloid-beta (due to plaques in brain)

Question 8

What is ApoE?

Answer 8

299 amino acid glycoprotein produced in the liver and glia in the brain

Question 9

Which type of ApoE is associated with increased amyloid-beta production?

Answer 9

E4 (R122-R158 isoform)

Question 10

How else does ApoE4 affect amyloid-beta levels?

Answer 10

Less efficient clearance

Increased oligomersiation

Question 11

Which isoforms of ApoE are protective in AD?

Answer 11

ApoE2

Question 12

What is the role of RAGE?

Answer 12

Mediate amyloid-beta influx across the BBB

Question 13

What are “plaques?”

Answer 13

Insoluble aggregates of amyloid beta proteins which forms outside neurons

Question 14

What are “tangles”?

Answer 14

Insoluble aggregates of hyper-phosphorylated Tau protein which form inside the neurons